The Lewisham East by-election is coming up this Thursday, June 14, with the eyes of the country focused on the south east London constituency.

We have asked the candidates from the five major parties their views on big talking points for the area and how they would improve lives for people living in Lewisham.

In the first of our three-part series, we asked for their opinions on the NHS, education and housing.

NHS

Janet Daby – Labour

The Tories and the Lib Dems tried to close Lewisham Hospital but thanks to a fantastic local campaign with Labour at its forefront we managed to keep it open. The Tories have cut funding for the NHS in a damaging policy of austerity which the Lib Dems ushered in. It is vital that we properly fund our NHS, including achieving true parity of care for mental health, so that people can continue to rely on this amazing institution.

Ross Archer – Conservative

I’m a proud supporter of our NHS, and the fantastic work that it does. That’s why I’m glad, that thanks to the Conservative Government, NHS funding has risen by £20 billion since 2010. I am committed to a National Health Service that is free at the point of use and am pleased that the Government is delivering a long-term plan for our NHS so it is always there to look after people.

Lucy Salek – Liberal Democrats

The NHS saved my Mum’s life, and I am proud that the Liberal Democrats have led on calling for a penny in the pound on income tax to raise the money we need to protect our NHS in the short term. In the long term we need a hypothecated tax for health and social care so that we can protect the NHS for future generations.

Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah – Green Party

I am so passionate about the NHS. I really had to get used to it when my daughter Ella became ill in 2010. I am now part of the Healthy London Partnership. I continue to fundraise every year and my community donate to different parts of the children’s department in Ella’s memory through the Foundation bearing her name, so that funds they do get can be spent elsewhere. The NHS is being privatised by the back door - an unspeakable practice which Labour should acknowledge was accelerated when they were in power. They should now commit to reversing it. The Green Party supports a holistic view which integrates and properly funds health (including mental health) and social care. Everyone should be proud of our fabulous NHS. Although we won Lewisham hospital’s initial fight with the Government over closing the A & E we are not out of the woods yet.

David Kurten – UKIP

The NHS should be free at the point of delivery. Tory plans to sell off its most lucrative parts to private companies are damaging to healthcare. The NHS has too many managers and not enough front-line staff like doctors, GPs and nurses and psychologists. UKIP wants more places to train enough British young people for careers in medicine and healthcare so we don’t have to rely on taking healthcare professionals from other countries who have trained them and need them. The bursary for trainee nurses and midwives should be re-instated with urgency.

Education

Janet Daby – Labour

Education is another area where Tory and Lib Dem cuts have hit hard. Labour revolutionised education in London through the London Challenge. It is only by properly funding services and pursuing a similar agenda to the London Challenge that we will be able to give all of our children a proper start in life. Our primaries are great, but we need to do more to also make our secondaries great. We know they are struggling for funds, and I will fight to ensure they get a fair funding settlement that reflects the need of the area.

Ross Archer – Conservative

Lewisham is rated worst for education in all of inner London. This is simply not good enough. Our young people should have the opportunities and education they need to succeed, but Lewisham Labour have failed to act. They should be introducing new academies and free schools as a start, so our children get the education they deserve. It’s only a vote for me on Thursday that can make the Labour Party sit up, listen and most importantly act.

Lucy Salek – Liberal Democrats

I believe that we need to get rid of Ofsted and create a new body to take a more holistic approach to how schools are funded and assessed. It is a disgrace that Lewisham’s secondary schools are now some of the worst in London. We need to put Borough Councils back in the driving seat of running schools so that they are more accountable to the communities they serve.

Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah – Green Party

In Lewisham the primary schools are doing very well but unfortunately around 50% of the secondary schools are categorised “requires improvement” or “inadequate”. This is not good enough. Parents have chosen to send their kids out of borough, some have even moved. Instead of listening to parents, Labour here are hell bent on continuing their failed Free School project. I would be a strong voice in Parliament arguing that the Government should pump money into comprehensives not Free Schools. A lot of teachers have taken early retirement and we should do everything in our power to try retain and encourage them to return.

David Kurten – UKIP

UKIP wants an education system where no child is held back and which is focussed on the United Kingdom becoming self-sufficient in skills. There should be different types of secondary school tailored to children with different talents, aptitudes and interests: grammar, technical, vocational, special and specialist schools for sports, music and the arts. Our priority is to ensure there are grammar schools and technical schools in every local education authority area. For children who have a technical or vocational mindset, level 1 apprenticeships should be available from age 14. We would pay the tuition fees of British students who study STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths, Medicine) at University, provided they work after their graduation in their field in the UK.

Housing

Janet Daby – Labour

I will work with our Mayor Damien Egan and London Mayor Sadiq Khan to ensure that we continue to address the Tory housing crisis. We are already doing a lot to ensure that we build more homes, and that a higher proportion of those homes are genuinely affordable. I will also make it my mission to increase the amount of social housing that we have available so that our kids will be able to afford to stay in the communities they grew up in.

Ross Archer – Conservative

The Government have made significant progress to build the homes we need, but housing remains unaffordable for many. That’s why the Government are focused on making home ownership a reality. Our reforms mean we have helped nearly 700 people in Lewisham East buy a home since 2013, we have cut stamp duty for 80 per cent of first time buyers across the country and we have invested £44 billion to deliver 300,000 new homes a year.

Lucy Salek – Liberal Democrats

We would campaign to build council houses on public owned land and put pressure on the Mayor to draw funds from the London assembly and central government to build social housing. Earlier this year Labour Lewisham Council missed out on an extra £42 million of funding for social housing because they missed a deadline! In Parliament Lib Dems are fighting the government for a fair deal for renters in the private sector.

Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah – Green Party

I would put pressure on the council to repair and otherwise make more empty houses available for renting out. They also need to make sure that older people who want to swap maybe a 3 bedroom for a 1 bedroom have the support and facilities for them to do so. More social housing needs to be built including the Milford Towers that needs to be knocked down. I question the how the word “affordable” is currently being used, the council should make sure that at least 50% of new private property built is genuinely “affordable” housing or not approve it.

David Kurten – UKIP

Planning permission should be given to new developments on disused brownfield sites. Estate regeneration could be used to build new homes provided local residents are balloted and are guaranteed a like-for-like home after regeneration. The housing crisis will never be solved, however, unless there is an end to Tory/Labour mass, rapid, uncontrolled immigration. London’s population has gone up by at least 2 million in the last 20 years, entirely due to people moving into London from abroad. UKIP’s controlled immigration policy will help to end the housing crisis by decreasing demand as well as increasing supply.